Robert Turner Boyd (born February 11, 1948) is an American
anthropologist. He is professor of the
School of Human Evolution and Social Change
The Industrial Arts Building on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe, Arizona, later known as the Anthropology Building and now known as the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, was built in 1914. It was listed on the National Regi ...
(SHESC) at
Arizona State University (ASU). His research interests include
evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach in psychology that examines cognition and behavior from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify human psychological adaptations with regards to the ancestral problems they evol ...
and in particular the evolutionary roots of
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
. Together with his
primatologist wife,
Joan B. Silk (who is also a professor in SHESC at ASU), he wrote the textbook ''How Humans Evolved''.
Life
Boyd was born in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. He studied
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
at the
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...
(B.A., 1970). In 1975, he completed a Ph.D. in
ecology
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...
at the
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...
. From 1980 to 1984, he was
assistant professor
Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada.
Overview
This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree
A docto ...
of the Department of
Forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...
and
Environmental Science at
Duke University. Afterwards, he taught two years in the Department of Anthropology at
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...
. From 1988 to 2012, Boyd was on the faculty of the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...
Department of Anthropology. He is currently a professor at the
School of Human Evolution and Social Change
The Industrial Arts Building on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe, Arizona, later known as the Anthropology Building and now known as the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, was built in 1914. It was listed on the National Regi ...
at
Arizona State University.
Books
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* Also published by Fünfte Auflage in 2008.
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External links
Faculty page at ASU*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Robert
American anthropologists
University of California, Los Angeles faculty
1948 births
Living people
Cognitive science of religion
University of California, Davis alumni